Title Review Checklist

Save the Schedule A, Schedule B-I (requirements), and Schedule B-II (exceptions) into the transaction file in Dotloop or SkySlope. If the commitment is older than 30 days at projected closing, request an updated bring-down before continuing.

Address typos and wrong APNs on Schedule A are common, especially on infill lots and recently re-platted parcels. Compare against the executed purchase contract and the county assessor record, not just the MLS sheet.

Calendar a bring-down request 5 business days before closing if the effective date is more than 30 days out. A stale commitment is a frequent cause of last-minute funding delays.

Compare Schedule A vesting against the names on the listing agreement and the seller's driver's license. Common mismatches: maiden name vs. married name, deceased co-owner not yet released, post-divorce title still held jointly.

Walk Schedule A back through any intervening deeds — quitclaims between spouses, transfers into a trust, foreclosure or REO conveyances. Recent flips trigger seasoning requirements on FHA loans (90-day rule) that can kill the financing contingency.

Tenancy controls who must sign the deed and the closing package. Joint tenancy with a deceased co-owner needs a death certificate recorded; tenancy by the entirety requires both spouses; a trust or LLC needs authority documents pulled in the next step.

For a trust: certification of trust naming the acting trustee with power to sell. For an LLC: operating agreement, member resolution, and a current certificate of good standing from the secretary of state. Title underwriters typically reject closings without these in hand 5 days out.

Read metes-and-bounds calls character by character against the recorded deed. A single transposed bearing or a missing course is enough to require a corrective instrument before the new deed can record cleanly.

Confirm acreage, lot/block (in subdivisions), and any access easements shown on the survey appear on Schedule A. Encroachments, fence-line discrepancies, and unrecorded driveway easements are the typical findings here.

Coordinate with the title officer on the right cure: a scrivener's affidavit handles obvious typos in the prior deed, a corrective deed handles substantive errors and requires the original grantor's signature. Build in 7-10 days for execution and recording.

Order written payoffs good through closing date plus 5 days. HELOCs require a written request to freeze the line — without the freeze, the seller can draw funds between payoff and recording and leave a partial release problem.

Verify wire instructions verbally with the lender's payoff department on a known phone number. Forwarded PDFs are the most common wire-fraud vector at this stage.

Send any use-restricting CC&Rs (short-term-rental bans, exterior-color requirements, RV/boat parking limits) to the buyer's agent for buyer acknowledgment. Recorded easements that cross the building footprint are a frequent late-stage objection.

Name searches against every grantor on Schedule A — including ex-spouses and prior trustees — under all variants (maiden name, middle initial). IRS liens require a 25-day discharge timeline; flag immediately if found.

If the seller did recent renovation work, request lien waivers from each contractor and supplier covered by the state's mechanic's-lien window (typically 90-120 days post-completion). Unsigned-off work gets escrowed at closing under a hold-back agreement.

Pull the county tax certificate showing paid-through date. Confirm proration math on the ALTA statement uses the correct fiscal-year basis for the jurisdiction (calendar year, July-June, or other).

Tax-certificate states (FL, NJ, AZ) issue investor certificates against unpaid bills that must be redeemed at closing with current interest. Get the redemption figure direct from the tax collector — title's printed amount is often stale.

HOA estoppels expire (typically 30 days) and require update fees to refresh. Capital-contribution and transfer fees vary by association; verify the buyer is contractually obligated for them before they appear on the buyer's side of the ALTA.

Walk the standard six (rights of parties in possession, encroachments, taxes not yet due, mechanic's liens, gap, and survey matters) and decide which need affirmative coverage. Lenders usually require gap and survey exceptions removed.

Pull the closing instructions for the endorsement schedule — common ones: ALTA 8.1 (environmental), ALTA 9 (CC&Rs), ALTA 22 (location), ALTA 6 (variable rate). Missing endorsements at the CD stage trigger TRID re-disclosure and reset the 3-day waiting period.

Provide the title underwriter a current survey or, where allowed, a no-new-improvements affidavit from the seller. Without removal, encroachments and boundary issues are uninsured against the owner's policy.

Read the deed against Schedule A character-for-character. Confirm the notary acknowledgment matches the state of execution, not the state of the property — a common mistake when sellers sign remotely.

Tie commission, seller credits, repair credits, home-warranty allocation, and HOA proration to the contract and any signed amendments. CD must issue at least 3 business days before consummation under TRID — fee changes after this point can push closing.

The transaction coordinator records the final clearance decision and routes to the broker-in-charge for file-review purposes. 'Cleared with conditions' requires the conditions to be itemized in the reviewer notes.